5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kari Lake

Kari Lake has become one of the most controversial and polarizing politicians in the United States, with many people outside of Arizona not knowing much about her besides her far-right campaign on Twitter and election fraud allegations. Here are five things that you might not have known about Lake, who ran for Arizona Governor in 2022 but lost to Katie Hobbs.

She Has Flipped Political Sides

Prior to 2006, Kari Lake had been a registered member of the Republican Party. However, she switched to becoming an independent in 2006 and then became a Democrat following Barack Obama winning the Iowa caucus. After four years as a Democrat, Lake flipped once again, returning to the Republican Party. Lake blamed the wars in the middle east for leaving the Republican Party, saying that she returned because of the likes of Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan.

Lake has never really gone in-depth as to what prompted her specifically to leave the party in 2012 other than that she was “disappointed” in Obama. Regarding her interest in politics, though, Lake has said that “The status quo isn’t working,” and that “I’m focused on delivering the transformative leadership we need to tackle those challenges head-on.”

She Has Also Flipped Religions

One of the biggest reasons why people have been critical of Kari Lake and saying that her political career has simply been a “stunt for attention” is because of her religious history, as well. Those who were close to lake prior to her run for the governor spot have said that Lake was a hardcore Democrat while also being a Buddhist.

Stephanie Angelo, a fellow news anchor in Arizona, was friends with Lake throughout much of their careers. “Her saying that abortion should be illegal – absolutely not,” she said. “The Kari I knew would never have said that, and she wouldn’t have believed it either.” Angelo went on to say that Lake was a practicing Buddhist who disliked guns, but Lake said she converted to Evangelism when Trump was running for President.

She Had No Political Experience

Heading into the 2022 Gubernatorial election in Arizona, many began looking up Kari Lake’s political experience only to find out that she didn’t have any. Lake had exclusively been a member of the media, starting her career in her home state of Iowa. Lake then moved to Illinois as a weathercaster before heading to Arizona, then New York, and once again to Arizona, but this time returning as an anchor.

Lake was immediately suspected of simply wanting to advance her career, especially when she started to go against the grain on a wide range of topics to warrant attention. This included Lake being heard on a microphone promoting her social media pages. Lake worked with KSAZ almost all the way up until her gubernatorial campaign. At the time, all of her experience had been in broadcast journalism.

She Once Opposed a Teacher Strike

From February 2018 to June 2019, teachers around the United States went on strike in hopes of receiving higher salaries and more benefits while increasing the budget for public schools. Arizona was one of the states that saw the biggest strikes, with teachers state-wide hoping to have their demands met. 20,000 teachers in Arizona went on strike for a week, leading to a 20 percent salary increase over three years and an immediate nine percent increase.

One of the biggest opponents of the #RedForEd movement was Kari Lake. Lake said that it was nothing more than “a big push to legalize pot and make it more savory by tossing teachers a bone with a substantial raise.” Lake went on to delete that Tweet and apologized on air, saying that “I’m concerned that some are trying to use the teachers’ fight for higher pay to move forward with their own separate agendas.”

She Wants to be Vice President

While Lake might not be a big fit for the Presidential spot in the United States, she’s certainly interested in being the Vice President of the United States. Lake has tied herself to Donald Trump vehemently, with many saying that it’s in hopes of getting the VP spot if Trump were to become President again.

“I really believe his policies are the ones that can help save this country, truly,” Lake said. “And so I’m going to do whatever I can. If he wants me to help him in any way, shape, or form, I will do that. I will campaign for him. I’ll do whatever I need to.” She added that she’s not actively running for VP, but would accept.